Operation: Daybreak
Operation Daybreak was a mission launched by Corde Detrick and his misfit team, and became one of the most important events in galactic history. The Plan Corde's plan was fairly simple, if somewhat ruthless; by tricking or convincing all sides in the fight to throw their full might in one particular system, specifically the Hydra System, and then controlling the battle from behind the scenes to ensure that no side can topple the other, they plan to force the governments, civilians and militaries to grow extremely tired and fed up with the war, and to eventually sue for peace, hopefully on equal terms with each other. Getting the Team, 2413 Before Corde could launch his mission, however, he needed a team of elite soldiers who were either dedicated to ending the war for every nations' benefit, or had no loyalties to any of the warring factions. This team consisted of: * Corde Detrick, team leader and elite, cybernetically enhanced Najenmik soldier. * Drake Kalaxen, genetically enhanced super soldier-turned-mercenary. * Olivia Chambers, another mercenary and elite PLH assassin and marksman. * Joseph "Joe" Malone, an experienced and gifted CCSCIA hacker. * Karen Hendrix, an extremely skilled IWC medic and heavy weapons officer. * Anton Dietrich, Elite Najenmik spy with limited medical knowledge. Besides the primary ground team, the Wolfpack would eventually incorporate several more members into their ranks, in support roles mostly. This included: * Maya Vasiliyev, A freelance mercenary on the run from CDI and the Zaslon defense contractor. * Iliya Malakhov, A helghast intel specialist and gifted interrogator. * Bernard Rease, A Mars Defense Force Naval captain in command of the MDFN Heisenberg. Gave logistical and limited orbital support for ground operations. The initial team was largely recruited over the course of two standard galactic months, with Corde relying primarily on persuasion and guile to convince the disparate soldiers to join him in his quest to end the war. Over the course of their mission, new recruits were slowly added into the Wolfpack's ranks, and what was initially a single team slowly grew into a small but powerful force within it's own right. Paving the way to Alexandria, 2414 - 2415 Once establishing a team and determining that they were ready to begin, Cordes' first plan of action was to pull the majority of the military might of both belligerent nations into a single, high value territory, to limit the amount of overall devastation suffered by civilians and to preferably keep the war devastation limited to a small, isolated pocket. The Confederate Hydra System is chosen as the primary target, due to it being a large network of communications, refueling stations and munition production, in addition to the C.C.C. already having sizable defenses available on the planet. To bring the Empire's attention to the system, Corde has Olivia Chambers relocate the surviving members of the PLH to the system capital of Alexandria, them officially declare themselves reconstituted, knowing the Empire will not allow the rogue mercenary band to continue existing. At the same time, Joseph Malone has the CCSCIA tipped of potential Najenmik infiltration, forcing the Empire to send a larger more overt force to the system. Lastly, to ensure the Empire falls for the bait, a transmission between C.C.C. leaders is intercepted and forwarded to Imperial High Command through several undisclosed third parties, revealing Alexandria to be a primary manufacturing point for the hated Concussive Warp Coil WMD's the C.C.C. had initially unleashed on Gyre to cover their retreat, making the capture of the planet a strategic and tactical priority for the Empire, who mounted a massive invasion force in earnest, pulling forces from several fronts to attack the system. Checks and Balances - September 18th, 2415 The Empire's invasion force storms the system en masse, with a massive space battle taking place throughout the emptiness between the Hydra System's worlds. To ensure the helghast make landfall upon the C.C.C. worlds, Corde personally hunts down and assassinates the two veteran Confederate admirals dedicated to defending the planet, whilst also feeding information on the fleet's composition and location to the Empire. Corde deliberately downplays the numbers of the defending fleet however, to ensure the Empire achieves a pyrrhic victory. After a long and bloody battle, the Empire succeeds in securing space dominance, and launches multiple ground assaults across the system, with most focus on the planetary capital of Alexandria. Once on the planet, Joseph is ordered to divert CCSCIA forces away from the front, to allow the Empire to secure a stronger and more maintainable foothold on Alexandria, focused primarily on the massive continent of Vostok. The Helghasts' initial advance is swift, with their forces outmatching the defenders in training and, initially, numbers. Once the Empire has expanded to nearly two thirds of the continent, problems begin to arise. Through their various mercenary contacts, Olivia and Drake amass a guerrilla force to harass the invaders, largely through attacking and stealing resources from the Empires' supply lines. These supplies would then be either funneled into the Wolfpacks' growing arsenal, or sold on the black market to continue funding the team. Secondly, Anton was sent within the various towns and cities under imperial occupation, funneling some of these stolen supplies into the hands of the growing partisan movements on the planet. Either way, these operations greatly hampered the Empires' assault, yet did not completely cripple the invasion force outright, leading the armies into a much more static, protracted battle for the surface. Once the stage was set, the Wolfpack adopted an overwatch of Alexandria, vigilantly watching and listening for any changes in the balance of the war. The Great Train Robbery As the war on Alexandria progressed, the guerilla forces under Drake and Olivia established a plan. They had learned of a major railway supply line the Helghast had constructed, shipping several metric tons of food, weapons, ammo and medicine on a daily basis to their forces along the front. Coupling this with the fact that the Helghast were winning the fight for the continent of Vostok, a bit of re-balancing was in order. By limiting the main channel through which the Helghast army obtained supplies, their offensive would inevitably slow significantly. They began with Malone being assigned to hack into the databases of the Helghast supply depots in order to figure out the train's schedule and when it would make it's supply run. Afterwards, before the train made it's run, Anton snuck himself and Drake into the train, gathering a huge number of supplies, using Drake's superhuman strength to carry them to the Veil piloted by Corde and swiftly extract. Simultaneously the guerilla forces placed landmines and demolition charges on the railway several miles ahead in a spot far from any Helghast checkpoints so the remains of the train can be looted by the Wolfpack. The Veil launches again, with Corde and Drake once more taking whatever remains they weren't able to take with them before, and then leaving the scene, making sure to point evidence towards the guerilla groups, drawing attention away from the wolfpack. Outside Recruitment In order to ensure the success of operation daybreak, Corde begins to consider the help of non-Wolfpack assets. Maya Vasiliyev The first unofficial recruitment takes place after intercepting a signal for help near the Draco system. Intrigued by the peculiar SOS Corde updates the Veils course to drop him off on Gaius, and begins to prep for a scouting mission. Upon making landfall he notices an old rugged hauler dry docked on the outskirts of an old settlement. After moving closer to the ship Corde begins to hear signs of a struggle, and notices multiple mercenaries laying unconscious around the outside of the ship. While trying to make sense of the situation Corde notices a tall white figure stalking a woman, and quickly shifts to intercept. At first Corde believes the figure is unaware of his presence, but is quickly refuted. The figure quickly tips the scales, and overwhelms Corde with close quarters attacks. However, when Corde regains composure the figure is nowhere to be seen. With the situation now stabilized, Corde begins to question mercenaries that are still conscious. Accompanying the mystery woman while she tends to the wounded, Corde discovers that she was the one that triggered the SOS of the ship. After talking with her for some time, he learns that her ship was hit with some sort of EMP, and she used the last remaining power to bring the shipboard distress pulser online. Offering help in exchange for her identity, and the context of the skirmish that took place, she reveals herself to be Maya Vasiliyev, the leader of the mercenary corporation based solely out of her now destroyed ship. Out of options Maya leaves her men in the hands of her brother, the co-commander, and takes Corde up on his offer to keep her safe. After boarding the Veil together, she divulges that shes being hunted by a shadow corporation, believed to be working for the C.C.C. Corde utilizing this information begins to contemplate his next step. Bernard Rease Cordes' second recruit is acquired almost immediately following this, barely a full day later. During what was meant to be a brief resupply patrol on a locally owned space station, Corde and his team are set upon by a strike force of unknown origin who quickly force the team into retreat. As the team makes their way to the Veil and pulls away from the station, it is almost immediately destroyed as their mysterious assailants attempt to wipe away all traces of their involvement, before their ships begin an aggressive pursuit of the Veil. A prolonged game of cat and mouse ensues, with the Veil being forced to rely on baiting the ships into splitting up and using their advanced weaponry on individual vessels. After a grueling fight, the Veil finally forces the surviving hostiles to retreat, their fallen comrades ships being atomized as they fall back. Damaged and in need of repairs, the Veil is forced to make an immediate jump to the nearest populated system, which happens to be the Sol system. With no other option available, the Wolfpack sets off. Using materials and funds "borrowed" from local pirates and the Earth resistance, the Veil sets about the arduous task of repairing itself under a full cloak in an imperial system. Within two days the vessel is nearly fully repaired, but before the team can make their exit, a Mars Defense Force light cruiser manages to successfully identify and intercept them. Corde surprisingly orders an immediate surrender of the ship, leaving his confused crew to only follow along uncertainly. After being boarded by the Martians and taken to their ship, now known to be the Heisenberg, Corde tacitly gives information as to where his ships' databanks are to the MDFN captain, Bernard Rease. Rease quickly heads towards said database, and is surprised to find the computers deliberately unlocked and all security systems to be deactivated, as if intentionally. Reading through the Wolfpacks' mission statement, and finding himself to hold similar, if less ruthless, beliefs as the ex-Najenmik, Rease offers a compromise to Corde: The Wolfpack will not be reported to the Empire, and the Heisenberg will serve as a large carrier and support station for the Veil, in exchange for the Martian being allowed a limited level of restraining capability on the Wolfpack, keeping any excessive force by the team kept to a minimum. Iliya Malakhov It would be a few weeks before the next recruit would be brought into the fold. While pondering about the shadow corporation initially encountered within the Draco system, and again on the Martian border, Corde is approached by Anton Dietrich. While talking Corde learns of an interrogator stationed on the infamous ACF that may be able to assist in their work. Eager to learn about the corporation expanding the C.C.C. experimental weapons arsenal Corde devises a plan to infiltrate the prison facility, and meet with this interrogator. Fortunately for the Wolfpack, the agreements of the Mars Accord are not widely known among the civilians of either nation, and as a result Bernard Rease is able to get docking rights to the asteroid under the auspices of a Martian Health Inspection, something Mars ships in actuality have no right to perform outside of their system. Once the Heisenberg has docked with the station and the Martians have the Imperial staff distracted, Corde and Joseph infiltrate the primary network hub of the facility, with Malone quickly hacking through the Imperial security networks he fails to notice the silent alarms grace period almost elapsed. From the background he hears a voice shout "Remember to use a root kit, youre about to trip the stations main alarm." Corde quickly turns towards the mysterious figure, and upon realizing the figures not a threat he lowers his sidearm. Malone quickly realizes he forgot to use the rootkit, and scrambles to stop the alarm going off. The figure then turns around, and while snickering yells "have fun in that storage compartment that youre oh so inclined to break into, Corde." Realizing the true identity of the mysterious figure he catches up to Iliya. "You seem like a man that wants to be found. Whats the reasoning?" Corde asks in an intrigued tone. "Well you see, ive taken most of the things apart in this station, messed with them, and put them back together. Im running out of things to do, and to be frank i want off this station." Following the discussion the trio make their way back to the Veil, and welcome their newest, albeit eccentric, member to the team. The Dark Winter sets in - November 21st, 2415 As a remarkably brutal winter settled across Alexandria, all factions fighting found themselves limited in their operational capacity, with soldiers freezing to death, vehicles malfunctioning and entire platoons disappearing in white-out blizzards. This leads the belligerents across the world to hunker down, setting up heavily entrenched and hardened defenses across their lines in preparation for a new round of hostility in the coming spring. This is excluding the arid deserts that dominate the southern hemisphere of Alexandria, where a gritty and relentless Helghast offensive continues unabated throughout the winter. Setbacks and Losses - December 5th, 2415 Using the lull in combat as an opportunity to make their next move, Corde has the Wolfpack make landfall behind C.C.C. territory with the intention of assassinating Confederate General Isaac Reyes, who has been responsible for several decisive victories against the invading Helghast during the autumn of the previous year. With lax security and an overconfident target, Corde takes Maya and Olivia in the field to eliminate this newest threat. Nearly as soon as they've entered the base, however, the team can tell something is very wrong. The power for the facility is out, guards are missing, and the bases vehicles are left abandoned and empty across it's roads. Upon reaching the general's office, the Wolfpack is shocked to find the veteran leader dead and slumped lifelessly over his desk. While Corde is investigating the scene Maya, who is sitting in the background observing, notices a faint glint through the window. As she yells for Corde to get down, a petrusite infused shell penetrates the concrete and strikes Corde through the upper torso. Panicked, Maya throws one of her cloaking gadgets towards the wounded Corde, and among the chaos Olivia motions for her to grab him, and retreat from the room. Sniper Duel between Olivia and Clearsight - December 5th-6th, 2415 In order to cover her allies escape, Olivia set herself up an impromptu snipers nest within the office. As soon as she manages to sight in on her target, however, another round tears into her shoulder, causing her return shot to fire off wildly. Determination driving her onwards, Olivia retreats under the cover of an infrared smoke bomb back into the building, setting her suit to automatically upload the combat data of her ensuing fight with her assailant to the Veil's computers. Soon after, she makes her way into the nearby forest and begins hunting her target. Unfortunately, as soon as she establishes a link she hears the roar of the Veils' engines being put into overdrive. Looking up above, she sees her allies' ship desperately fleeing the scene as a Confederate fighter squadron zeroes in, leaving Olivia alone on the ground against the unknown assassin. As the evening settles into a cold and snowy night, Olivia finds herself matched in a fierce game of cat and mouse with her foe. Always one step ahead, just barely out of reach, or seemingly vanishing into thin air just as she lines up a shot on him, the assassin manages to out-gun her throughout the battle. Slowly, he whittles away at her with carefully laid traps, crippling shots and an unbeatable level of patience and determination. Come morning of the next day, Olivia lies crippled and bleeding in a cold forest as her attacker finally shows himself to her up close, revealing many of her own attacks did indeed connect. Wounded and suffering from several gunshot and knife punctures across his body, her foe who is oddly unaffected by his debilitations. Just as her killer lines up the killing blow, Olivia uploads all the data from her night-long fight with him to the Veil, including an image taken by her visor, before a final deafening shot ends her life. Back on the Veil, Corde is left in emergency condition as his lung collapses and the petrusite energy from his wound hampers his cybernetic life support systems. While Anton and Karen work to keep him alive, Illiya and Malone are the first to receive their fallen friends' data and, despite the loss being a significant shock, begin an extensive research session, obsessed with finding out who or what just attacked them. After hours of data mining and cross-referencing different points, only a codename can be found: Clearsight. A Carepackage from Mars, and New Tortuga - 6-7 December, 2415 With Corde's condition growing more grave by the hour, Captain Rease calls in a few favors. His contact, none other than Doctor Baines, Director of Olympus Mons. In a desperate bid to save Corde's life, Rease asks for the release of a one-of-a-kind, prototype augmentation package to the Heisenberg. Doctor Baines, while unsure of Rease's exact motives, can sense the urgency of this request. At her behest, the package is loaded aboard an unmarked transport and departs Mars' Mons Starport the evening of 6 December. Corde's troubles, however, are far from over. Hours after leaving Mars, the Mons freighter is set upon by the Calisto, an "Independent Cargo Reclamation" vessel, in truth operated by pirates. The Mons Security team was quickly overwhelmed, and thier cargo liberated. As the Pirates made their escape, the freighter transmitted a flash message to the Heisenberg; it read simply: "Calisto has the package, returning to Mars." Morale aboard the Heisenberg immediately dropped, as such a brazen attack could only be the work of one pirate captain, Julius Frakes, known by his victims as Blackbeard. Captain Rease immediately briefed the Wolfpack, and explained the most major complication, the pirate Frakes himself. Frakes had started his adult life as a Martian Marine, with the 73rd Infantry Division, where he served with distinction, and was heavily augmented as a result of combat injuries. In 2409, Frakes was dishonorably discharged after he was found stealing weapons and equipment from a storehouse on Luna, and selling them to "radical elements." Flash forward six years, and he's still playing the same game, with his own private army. Retreiving the equipment necessary to save Corde meant taking on Blackbeard at home, in the Pirate haven of New Tortuga. At 0810, Mars Standard, on 7 December 2415, MDFN Heisenberg arrived in the New Tortuga system. Rease, supported by the Heisenberg's embarked marines and Operative McKenna , made landfall on the small, arid world KR-5127 . The assault force entered the automated resource base turned pirate drydock unopposed, moving swiflty toward the heavy hangar on the far side. As the unit reached the hangar, however, they were set upon by Blackbeard and his crew of misfits. As Rease and the marines battled the well entrenched crew, McKenna made a move for the case - and met Frakes' heavy, forged hand. McKenna narrowly avoided a fatal second strike, slipping under Frakes in the process, and coming up behind him. Through the next forty minutes, the two traded strikes, until Frakes finally gained the upperhand, pinning McKenna to the wall. Mere moments before Frakes could end McKenna's life, a heavy shot rang out, tearing the pirate's hardened arm from his body. The beast of a man turned to face Captain Rease, whose heavy boarding gun barked again, this time splitting Frakes in two. Hunters turned Prey - December 9th, 2415 With the care package from Mars secured, Corde is sent immediately prepped for surgery in order to install the newest medical implants, remove the shrapnel from Clearsights' weaponry and to stabilize the young Najenmiks' health. This task falls primarily to Karen Hendrix and Anton Dietrich, the medical experts among the Wolfpack and the only two beings in the galaxy with intimate knowledge of Corde's cybernetics. Despite the med bay of the Heisenberg, it is still primarily a warship, and Karen determines that more dedicated medical facilities will be needed to safely operate on Detrick. Through Rease the Wolfpack manage to secure the use of an MCD medical facility on board a station near the terminus of the Sol system. Quickly taking Corde to a surgical unit, Karen and Anton quickly begin the operation to save their friend. Unbeknownst to the team however, the hidden forces they've been under attack from continue to watch and monitor them, A cleaner unit is preparing to attack while the team is still recovering, and stem any research into the shadowy organization. Late into the night of Corde's second day of surgery, Anatoly Zarkhin enters the station, and begins to map the facility. On the other side of the station Anton finishes the surgery, and begins disinfecting the area, and cleaning the surgical utensils, while Karen is away resting after the long procedure. While Anton was cleaning he notices the bays doors shift open, Curious Anton calls out to see if anyone is there, but there is no response. Erring on the side of caution, Anton holsters his sidearm, and continues on with his work. A small amount of time later a small whir is heard from the mechanical portion of the bay doors, and the doors slam shut. Anton now on alert, hits the intercom button, and moves to check the status of the door. He checks the mechanical components, the seals, and actuators, but is unable to find a way to reopen the doors as they've been forced shut under the pretense of a lock down. A security team listens on, and prepares for defense. Turning around he notices a mysterious figure standing over the still recovering Corde, and draws his sidearm. Anatoly slowly walks to the front of the surgical table, and holds Corde's head in his hands. Anton now nervous, and hesitant to fire begins pacing around the back of the room, and starts asking questions out of emotional duress. In the end, Anton only cared for one thing, for Anatoly to spare Corde's life. Anatoly's wrist batons powered down as he stepped away from the still recovering Corde, and motions towards Anton, who in turn lowers his sidearm. In the split second that Anton lowers his sidearm, Anatoly lunges and disarms him. While Anatoly batters Anton, throwing him around like a rag doll, he fails to notice Corde motioning towards the pistol on the ground. Even though he is still recovering from his post op haze, he manages to put a round into anatoly's shoulder, jamming his servo, and locking his arm. Barely Concious, and having spent his only energy to fire the pistol, Corde can only sit helplessly and watch as the now enraged assassin pummels his friend. Shortly after the gunshot is heard over the intercom, the MCD have the door surrounded, and begins working to open the sealed doors. Anatoly regains composure, and finds he only has enough time to run. He glances over at corde once more, nods his head, and vanishes from sight. The room is breached moments later, but no sign of Anatoly is found, just fragments of armor from where he was shot. The Wolfpack make their way to the operation room, and start to realize the extent of the damage. Karen rushes to check on Anton, who is now limp and lifeless, while Iliya, Bernard, and Maya rush to check on Corde who is barely conscious on the floor. An MCD medical team makes its way to the room, and try to help both Corde, and Anton. A few medics stabilize Corde, and move him to recovery to fully remove the effects of sedation, while the others try desperately to resuscitate Anton. The Wolfpack watches for any signs of hope, but the medics finally, and dreadfully, call the time of death. The Wolfpack is dealt a Pyrrhic victory. Their leader is back, but at the cost of a beloved friend, and still know next to nothing about the corporation responsible. Donning his armor once more, Corde picks up his oldest and closest friend into his arms and carries him back to the Veil, a fire burning within his eyes. Ordering the crew to prepare for immediate redeployment, the young Detrick returns to his mission, more determined than ever. Regaining the Initiative - January 14th, 2416 After suffering several costly setbacks, and losing multiple members of the team, the Wolfpack return to the frontlines of Alexandria, now focusing on hunting and destroying the mysterious enemy that has hounded then the past month, while also taking more aggressive actions meant to dismantle the belligerent powers wartime capabilities. New objectives are stated as: * Identifying and eliminating the new threat posed to the Wolfpack and its' operations. * Directing opposing armies towards each other while within dangerous wilderness in large and inconclusive battles, minimizing civilian casualties and maximizing soldiers' loss of fighting willpower * Bringing support and attention to new civilian anti-war blocs now arising within the Empire and Confederacy, without linking themselves to any organization. With their objectives clearly laid out, the team begins their work anew, now taking the offensive against their enemies. Destruction of Imperial Facility X851 - January 23rd, 2416 Pursuing more aggressive tactics to force the various belligerent powers into a ceasefire, Corde preps his team for a mission deep behind Helghast lines to remove the current leadership and deal a devastating blow to Imperial wartime capabilities. With Malone hacking into the recently discovered headquarters for the invading army, Corde takes Maya and Drake with him in an infiltration mission of the facility. Having Drake track down the legion masters in charge of the Vostok campaign while Maya is tasked with hacking into Imperial fleet communication and logistical arrays, Corde tasks himself and Illiya with finding a deadly secret the Empire has discreetly brought to Alexandria: A stockpile of Irradiated Petrusite Warheads. As his team splits up to follow their respective objectives, Corde slips deeper into the facility, silently killing his way to the hastily built silos within the fortress. Meanwhile, Illiya hacks into the Empires' internal database, retrieving the weaponry's launch codes. Once receiving confirmation from Drake and Maya that the Helghast legion masters are on site and the Imperial fleet is successfully hacked into, Corde utilizes the information Illiya has managed to acquire, firing the handful of I.P.W. weapons across the Empire's logistical network, destroying the Empire's largest stockpile alongside their FOB and several fortified settlements, decimating the Empire's forces across the continent. Setting a final warhead to detonate within the facility itself, Corde orders his shocked and horrified team to evacuate, quickly retreating to the Veil and retreating as the Imperial HQ is consumed in a massive radioactive cloud of petrusite. Settling the blame for the internal sabotage on the I.W.C., Corde tips off the Helghast navy who send a massive reprisal force against the currently occupied moons, leading to a long and bloody battle between the two powers. Confederate Fortress Ivanov - January 24th, 2416 The very next day, before his team has even come to terms with their recent actions, Corde with the help of Illiya finds the current location of the Confederations' leadership and sets similar plans in motion, determined to cripple the opposing force before they regain the upper hand in the war. His teams trust in him shaken, they begrudgingly follow along with his new plan, more out of a need to maintain a balance than loyalty to their clearly unstable leader. With Malone lowering the bases defenses long enough for the Wolfpack to sneak in, Corde sends Drake and Malone to empty the bases' weapons stockpile while Illiya is tasked with discovering the location of the Confederate leadership. As Corde moves towards his targets, Maya follows alongside him, an evident concern for the former Najenmik noticeable in her eyes. With the C.C.C. still largely confused and uncertain of the recent developments in the war, the Wolfpack manages to move throughout the base with relative ease and successfully fulfills their objectives of securing the Confederate weapons cache and feeding the C.C.C. positions and plans to the Helghast survivors, who will almost assuredly launch an all out suicidal assault rather than surrender. Meanwhile, Corde succeeds in tracking down and killing off the leadership positioned within the base, removing the last of the defenders' local officers from the Vostok defense. sabotaging the bases' reactor to cover their retreat, the Wolfpack successfully retreats to the Veil as the Confederate base melts down, forcing the survivors to evacuate. All quiet on the Vostok Front - May 5th, 2416 The remaining Helghast ground forces that survived the devastation wrought by their own weapons launch a massive and knowingly futile assault in all directions against the Vostok defenders. Not bothering to secure supply lines or hold territory, the broken legions simply push into their enemies territory and continue fighting until all ammunition and supplies are exhausted, cutting massive swaths of devastation through the leaderless but numerically superior defenders. Meanwhile, the naval forces in orbit enter a massive and bloody battle of attrition over the worlds' twin moons, taking unprecedented casualties across all three sides. In the chaos, the Coalitions' forces successfully retreat under heavy fire, taking significant, but substantially less casualties then the other powers. Meanwhile the Confederates and Imperials throw everything they have against each other, until eventually only a fragment of the Empire's vessels remain and all Confederate ships are destroyed. With the Empire's assault broken and the Confederations defenses completely exhausted, both factions are forced to pull out of the system. News of the utterly unimaginable amounts of death and destruction reach the civilians of both nations, leading to dramatically lower recruitment numbers and will to fight amongst the powers. Shaken by the full effects of destructive total war on Alexandria, massive anti-war protests erupt across both the Empire and the Confederacy, while the Coalition quietly retreats back to their own nation, now secured in their independence from the opposing factions. A Team Divided Corde's dramatically increased brutality has successfully broken the fighting spirit of most major powers and has lead to more hopeful talks of a peace accord, but has also decimated large portions of Vostoks' landmass and killed potentially millions of people. The Wolfpack finds itself unwilling to continue such drastic actions and confront their leader over his recent behavior. After avoiding Corde for days after the mission, Corde decided to confront Iliya, and explain his actions. He ran into Iliya in the hallway, and stopped him. * Corde - "Look I know what I did was wrong, but it was the on-" * "The only thing we could of done? Listen to yourself!" Illiya snaps, whirling on his commander. "You're starting to sound like a deluded fucking insurgent!" * Corde slows his pace, hissing through his rebreather. "What would you have had me do then? Play bureaucrat? You know thats not how it works, nor is it what you signed up for." * Iliya shakes his head, unconvinced. "Corde what you did makes CDI look tame in comparison, and they're the ones that created the white coat bombs for fucks sake. The same people who ended my life, and nearly ended Maya's. Corde, we went in trying to end this, not become the new problem.... Me and Maya are catching the next shuttle ou-" * Cocking his head, Corde cuts him off worriedly. "So thats it? Youre out?" * Iliya watches his friend for a moment, before turning to leave. "My time with the Wolfpack? Yeah that chapters over. As far as I can tell we may have won the war, but I've lost a friend. Take care of yourself Corde." * Catching Illiya's shoulder, Corde speaks again, more hesitantly. "Wheres Maya? I need to talk to her." * Iliya shrugs his hand off, continuing his pace. "You may need to, but I doubt she wants to talk to you of all people." Watching his friend depart, Corde quickly turns from damage control to putting grievances to rest, while still trying to get a grasp on what exactly just happened with Iliya. Interrupting his introspection, Joe bumps into Corde, and lays into him. * "What the fuck was that, Corde? Have you gone completely insane? You tell us to balance out the war and you destroy the fucking planet instead?" * Corde raises a hand to calm his grieving friend down, taking a step forward. "We did what he had to. I know it’s very hard for you to accept but you need to remember, they didn’t die in vain. I hope you can take some comfort in that." * Joe shoves his leader bac, practically snarling in anger. - "COMFORT? You want to tell me to be fucking comfortable!? Oh sure, it’s just so damn easy for you isn’t it? What are millions of dead soldiers and refugees to some cold, machine-assassin from the Helghast Empire anyways?" Joe laughs cruelly, his voice bitter and hollow. "Oh but by all means, please, feel comfortable! I’m sure we have a couch here somewhere while we watch the destruction of planets filled with civilian populations!" * Corde keeps his composure, catching Joe's arm the next time an assault is attempted. "Look, I didn’t want this either, but we had to take a more drastic action, the war was being dragged out for too long a time. I know I left you all in the dark but we had to do it for the greater good……" * Joe, stares him down, taking a step back in disbelief. "Jesus Christ! Do you even hear yourself? The greater good? How many people hide behind that bullshit excuse? How many crazed idealists and murderers have we heard claim it was all for the greater good? Corde, I signed up with you to end the war. I did not sign up, to commit genocide!" Joe finally pushes past his former friend, sighing angrily. "I'm out. Try to take care of yourself Corde, if that's even possible for you anymore." Corde tries to stop Joe to no avail, folowing him briefly before accepting his departure. Soon after, catches Drake walking towards the Veil's hanger. * "Hey, Drake, wait up!" * Drake looks over, smiling weakly "Oh hey Corde, I was just... leaving... I mean holy shit Corde, all those people... dead. Fuck man." He laughs nervously, worry clear in his eyes. "D-did you know I have a brother in the Helghast Navy? I hope to God he wasn't in Vostok. Listen, this is not what I was hired to do Corde. I mean, I'm usually the guy to lighten up the mood but... not this time. I'm sorry Corde, I understand why you unleashed armageddon but I can't do this anymore man, I'm out." * Corde moves his hand weakly trying to find the right words for the situation. Failing that, he simply turns away, muttering. "I'm doubling your pay. Least I can do." * Drake just eyes him uncomfortably, rubbing his face "Thanks, and uh... no offense but don't visit visit my station for awhile. Gonna need space..." Now, with panic starting to set in, Corde rushes to Karen, opening her door only to find her sobbing softly, looking out the window to the dying world beneath them. Corde hesitates, placing a shaky hand on her shoulder. * "Karen... I was just trying to-" *She brushes his hand away, tears running down her cheeks as she looks to him, softly shaking her head." No, Corde... no. There's nothing to say, no justification, no..." she shudders, turning away. "Go, Corde. Please just... go." With her refusal to speak to him further, Corde simply bows his head, retreating from her room. With terror gripping hs chest he turns towards the final members' quarters, and painfully forces himself to march into Maya's room, preparing for the worst. * "Maya..." Category:Wolfpack